Ohio farm lets orphaned or abandoned foals thrive

ATHENS, Ohio — Orphaned, unwanted and some only days old, these fragile foals will need a lot of tender, attentive care to survive.

At The Last Chance Corral, they get that opportunity to live and grow without their mothers. The 2.75-acre horse rescue farm says it has saved thousands of foals and full-grown horses over the past three decades.

A handful of staffers are helped by a stream of volunteers who navigate the peaceful barns to monitor the foals’ progress. They quietly step around the sleeping foals, taking notes.

They replace soiled wood shavings used for bedding and for waste disposal. By hand, they encourage skittish and stressed young animals to drink formula.

Founder Victoria Goss says the horses come from a variety of sources for a variety of reasons. Some owners could no longer afford to keep them or family changes left them without a caregiver; some are infirm; others are simply unwanted or abandoned.

The biggest part of the nonprofit organization’s operations is rescuing foals that are often only weeks old and require 24-hour care.

“We wanted to put our efforts into something that people don’t want to work with, which is newborns,” Goss says. “We needed to at least give them a chance.”

Last Chance opened in 1986, but Goss says she has been involved in horse rescue since she was a child, starting in 1968.

“My whole life was horses,” she said. “This is what I know the most about. It seemed like an obvious place where I could do good.”

— JOHN MINCHILLO, Associated Press

In this Wednesday, May 6, 2015 photo, horses mill about their paddock at the Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio. The horse rescue says it has saved thousands of foals and full-grown horses since it opened in 1986. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Wednesday, May 6, 2015 photo, a young foal rests in a sunbeam at the Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio. Orphaned, unwanted and only weeks old, the fragile foals are given the opportunity to live and grow without their mother at the non-profit horse rescue in southeastern Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Thursday, May 7, 2015 photo, adopter Stephanie Toth, center, and friend Sierra Smith select a foal at Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio. During the foaling season of January to June, the rescue typically sees between 150-200 foals pass through their care and onto adoptive homes. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Thursday, May 7, 2015 photo, a foal is given fluids to combat the symptoms of a rotavirus infection at Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio. In the absence of their mothers and the opportunity to nurse naturally, foals must be encouraged to eat and drink, especially when suffering from diarrhea symptoms and stress. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Thursday, May 7, 2015 photo, foals rest in their barn at Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio. The foals, some only days old, spend most of their time resting while they are provided 24-hour care. Suffering from stress and rotavirus, many of the foals must be encouraged to eat or require medical intervention to survive. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Thursday, May 7, 2015 photo, Victoria Goss, founder of Last Chance Corral, stands in the medical supply room as she waits for the result of a colostrum test in Athens, Ohio. Every new foal brought to rescue critical for the development of animal’s immune system. In some cases, the foal is separated from the mother before the antibody transfer occurs, requiring intervention at the rescue. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Thursday, May 7, 2015 photo, founder Victoria Goss, left, and employee Trisken Emmert, right, hold a foal while it is administered fluids to combat the effects of a rotavirus infection at Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio. The young foals often arrive with the highly contagious illness that may cause potentially life-threatening diarrhea. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Thursday, May 7, 2015 photo, Victoria Goss, founder of Last Chance Corral, left, is assisted in bringing two foals to a adopter’s trailer in Athens, Ohio. Foals from the rescue are required to be adopted in pairs to facilitate their acclimation to new surroundings and reduce stress. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Thursday, May 7, 2015 photo, Victoria Goss, founder of Last Chance Corral, encourages a foal to eat from a bucket of formula in Athens, Ohio. Goss says the horses come from a variety of sources for a variety of reasons: some owners could no longer afford to keep them or family changes left them without a caregiver; some are infirm; others are simply unwanted or abandoned. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Wednesday, May 6, 2015 photo, Rachael Bendler, vice-president of Last Chance Corral, sits at a cluttered desk beneath a collection of horse bits hung from the ceiling in Athens, Ohio. In addition to direct care for the orphaned horses, the staff fields dozens of inquiries from potential adopters who must be extensively vetted. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Thursday, May 7, 2015 photo, two young foals rest together on wood shavings in their barn at Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio. Stressed by the separation from their mothers and rapid relocation, foals often form bonds with each other for comfort. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this Wednesday, May 6, 2015 photo, Victoria Goss, founder of Last Chance Corral, caresses a young foal in Athens, Ohio. “We wanted to put our efforts into something that people don’t want to work with, which is newborns,” said Goss. “We needed to at least give them a chance.” (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Matt Dayhoff

Matt Dayhoff started as a photographer for the Journal Star in 1992 shortly after graduating from the Ohio University School of Visual Communications. In 2009, he moved into the newsroom as an online editor and producer and is now responsible for helping manage and edit much of the editorial content on pjstar.com.